An action research addressing managing employee engagement in a remote working environment in a financial institution

• Main Author: Reyes, Rene Joseph M.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2021
• Subjects: Management—Employee participation; Telecommuting; Business Administration, Management, and Operations
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etdm_manorg/31; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/context/etdm_manorg/article/1035/viewcontent/Reyes2.pdf
• Institution: De La Salle University

This action research aims to understand and address the low employee engagement of the Customer Relationship Development (CRD) team in Global Commercial Services (GCS) of Company ABC. The main issue was determined based on the 2020 Colleague Experience Survey (CES) results and feedback shared by the Account Development Executives (ADE). Through various discussions with my collaborators, we identified three manifestations that resulted in the low engagement scores of CRD. We recognized the leaders’ differentiated approach or style, communication gap in setting expectations in performance during the pandemic, and anxiety in a virtual work environment influenced the unfavorable outcome of the CES survey. The objective of this research is to improve the working relationship of leaders and ADEs, drive performance, ensure alignment of approach and communication towards the wider team, and involve ADEs in creating solutions to the issue at hand. Through the IAR methods of inquiry, we succeeded to collect and validate the data we needed to come up with the interventions we deem necessary to manage the issue of employee engagement. We constructed and planned for our action plans using the Situational Leadership Model, Crisis Communication Life Cycle, and AON Hewitt’s Employee Engagement Model theoretical frameworks as our guide. The first cycle was initiated to properly set the foundation of the actions we took in response to the survey results. The second cycle showed the impact of these actions and how the involvement of ADEs improved the overall engagement of the team.